‘Appalachian Spring’ Kicks Off New Season of ‘Schubert on the Bluff’

September 6, 2016

The Mary Pappert School of Music's Schubert on the Bluff concert series at Duquesne University will begin this weekend with musical performances of works by Austrian composer Franz Schubert and American classical composer Aaron Copland. Appalachian Spring will be held this Sunday, Sept. 11, at 3 p.m. in PNC Recital Hall.

Copland created the ballet Appalachian Spring for the renowned dancer Martha Graham, and it has become one of the most beloved works in all of classical music.

In the season opener, Schubert is represented by the Arpeggione Sonata, performed by Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (PSO) principal violist Randolph Kelly, and by a selection of waltzes and German dances from Franz Liszt's Soirées de Vienne, played by Natasha Snitkovsky, adjunct professor of piano. Faculty from the School of Music will be joined by additional PSO musicians, as well as guest violinist Noah Bendix-Balgley (Berlin Philharmonic) and pianist Cynthia Raim (Music from Marlboro).

The concert will also feature Duo for Flute and Piano, which fuses Copland's jazz-inspired works from the 1920s and his famous folk-inspired ballet scores of the 1940s. The piece was originally commissioned as a retirement gift by students of Philadelphia Orchestra Principal Flutist William Kincaid.

Copland will be featured throughout season two of Schubert on the Bluff. Seating is reserved for all performances in the series.

A 2:30 p.m. pre-concert discussion by Dr. Ed Kocher, the William Patrick Power, C.S.Sp., Endowed Chair in Academic Leadership at Duquesne, will feature a presentation on the history and background of Copland's body of work.

Admission is $10; audiences can purchase tickets online, by email or by calling 412.232.3853. For more general information about the concert series, call 412.396.6083 or visit duq.edu/schubert

Duquesne University

Founded in 1878, Duquesne is consistently ranked among the nation's top Catholic universities for its award-winning faculty and tradition of academic excellence. Duquesne, a campus of nearly 10,000 graduate and undergraduate students, has been nationally recognized for its academic programs, community service and commitment to sustainability. Follow Duquesne University on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.www.duq.edu